Monday, May 19, 2008

After finding a cartoon that yours truly drew for California State University Long Beach's Daily 49er http://media.www.daily49er.com/media/storage/paper1042/news/2008/05/08/Opinion/Our-View.Arizona.Bill.To.Evict.Minority.Student.Groups-3367315.shtml, BBC Mundo reporter Jose Baig contacted me to give my humble two cents on a current legisltation that would ban Chicano/Latino, Asian American and African American Studies from Arizona schools. According to the bill, these classes promote anti-American values. What are some of those values? According to an article found at East Valley Tribune's Web site, some of those values include democracy, capitalism and pluralism. This law is specifically going after groups that are race-based. Groups such as MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan or Chicano Student Movement from Aztlan), Black Student Associations and any other group that supports anti-American values. Now, I've taken some of the Chicano courses at CSULB, and never have I been thought to hate this country. Nonetheless, I been informed of some of the things this country has done to various minorities (Stone Wall riots, Mexican repatriation in the 30s, not letting women vote!), but never have I been told to hate it. So if you can't read Spanish (the article is from BBC Mundo, the Telemundo of the BBC), that's the gist of the story!BBC article http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/mundo_usa/newsid_7391000/7391237.stm

Monday, May 12, 2008

Last week was Palestine Awearness Week. Various key note speakers and other activities took place throughout the whole week. The interesting part about the whole issue was the reaction by some members of the Jewish community here at CSULB. When author Anne Baltzer, a Jewish American Columbia graduate that has visited with people in Palestine and has toured different college campuses in the country to talk about the illegal occupation of Palestine by Israel, Rachel Bookstein, CSULB's Hillel director, was very disappointed on the alleged misleading information that Baltzer was giving in her presentation "Life In Occupied Palestine: Eyewitness, Stories and Photos."According to Bookstein, Baltzer was not presenting the whole picture and that she was simplifying a much rather complicated issue. Bookstein questioned why Baltzer wasn't showing the pictures of terrorists and the ones who wish death to the people of Israel.But Bookstein missed the whole point. Baltzer was trying to show a different picture than the one we are used to seeing on our local TV news. When was the last time that Palestine school girls are shown taking the bus at 3 a.m. just to make it in time to school because they have to cross the many check points.Bookstein also mentioned to the reporter (me) that she wasn't surprised that a Jewish person would think that way and that Baltzer should be more careful with this type of information.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Current TV is a fairly new cable station that features a lot of "citizen journalism" if you will. Some of the subjects that these pods deal with are very interesting issues that don't usually make it to mainstream media. Check this pod about the racism that is going on in Russia and the neo-Natzi movement among Russian youth. The cruelty commited agaisnt different immigration groups is very graphic, so beware.